The narrator, Claire, is immediately smitten with Eric, a new neighbor, but her friend Meredith also has her eyes on him. A series of dramatic events unfold, including a fight between Claire and Meredith at a party. Meanwhile, Claire's mother falls into a coma, and the family's financial struggles come to light. In an attempt to find a solution, Claire and Meredith discover that their mother has been lying about their family's past and has a mysterious laptop with encrypted files. They enlist the help of their friend Freddy, who reveals that Claire's mother has been assigned a placebo in a clinical trial and won't receive the treatment she needs. Freddy implies that Claire and Meredith can take action to change this, but it's unclear what they will do next.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The narrator meets a boy named Eric who just moved into the house across the street.
2. Eric has four brothers who are quadruplets.
3. The narrator is immediately attracted to Eric.
4. Eric starts dating Meredith, the narrator's friend.
5. The narrator throws mashed potatoes at Meredith's face during an argument.
6. The narrator and Meredith get into a physical fight at a party at Eric's house.
7. The narrator's mom is taken to the hospital after falling into a coma.
8. Freddy's dad, a neurosurgeon, takes the narrator's mom's case and discovers she has inflammation in her brain.
9. The narrator and Meredith try to contact their grandparents to help with their mom's medical expenses.
10. The private investigator hired by Freddy finds the grandparents, but they are not who the narrator expected.
11. The grandparents claim they don't have a daughter, but the narrator's mom has a picture of them.
12. The narrator and Meredith discover that their mom has been lying to them about their grandparents and her past.
13. The narrator and Meredith find a laptop and fake IDs in their mom's room.
14. Freddy helps them crack the laptop's encryption and discovers that it has heavy encryption and insane firewalls.
15. The narrator and Meredith contemplate selling their house to pay for their mom's medical expenses.
16. Freddy reveals that the narrator's mom has been assigned a placebo drug in her clinical trial.
17. Freddy suggests that the narrator and Meredith take matters into their own hands to get their mom the real treatment.